From the U.S. Army Military Academy at West Point to the sands of Iraq, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Sara Dudley, assistant chief of staff for Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command-Operation Inherent Resolve, works to bring the lessons she has learned throughout her life to those she meets every day.
"I am very privileged and humbled by the experiences that the Army has granted me," Dudley said. "In hindsight, everything happens for a reason."
Throughout her life, Dudley has discovered several life lessons which she feels have defined her.
The first is to stay humble.
"My dad continually reminded me that in every group, room, situation, or area that I would find myself, that there is someone who is smarter, or faster, or possess more information," Dudley said. "So, never act like you are better, smarter or know more than others--be humble in everything you do and focus on contributing to the goal of the group or situation."
Dudley, an Indianapolis, Ind., native, is currently serving on her third deployment and oversees and manages the budget for CJFLCC-OIR. She basically pays the bills for everything that happens in Iraq, she said.
As she works to tally numbers for the Army, Dudley confesses she never thought her career would add up to 19 years.
"I applied to West Point to spite my father," said Dudley with a laugh. "I had wanted to go to a small private-type college, and he said he would pay for me to go to Purdue University or the University of Illinois of Champaign. Other than that, I would have to figure out how to pay for college."
Through research, she discovered the military academies, where not only do you not have to pay to attend, they pay you.
"I applied without really having a full grasp of the fact that they were paying me, because then I was going to have a military service obligation," Dudley said. "So I applied to show him up. To show him that I didn't need any of his money. Then I ended up at West Point."
Although it didn't quite register that a five-year obligation to the military would follow her time at West Point, she said the commitment of working hard for what she wanted wasn't a new one for Dudley.
Growing up, Dudley had a passion for showing hunter and jumper horses. This wasn't a cheap hobby, and through it she says she discovered another valuable life lesson.
"I learned not only that you have to work in the barn to help pay for lessons and travel to horseshows, but more so learning that no matter how good you are on a given day, it takes two," she said.
"It taught me that in everything--it is never just about me or how well I individually do; it's the group, the larger situation… so it is best to focus on doing your personal best and not beat yourself up about things outside your control."
This focus on being her best has impacted some of the Soldiers who currently work closely with her.
"One of the things that inspires me is just the example she sets," said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Anna Knopes, operational contract support integration cell noncommissioned officer in charge, CJFLCC. "She carries herself with extreme confidence. She paves her own path and has a set determination of where she wants to go and what she wants to do. I couldn't imagine a better role model."
One of the ways Dudley incorporates this ethic of working hard is through her fitness regimen. She got into fitness through a decision to run the 113-mile TransRockies Run. The passion which training for the run instilled didn't dissipate, she said, and during her current deployment, Dudley uses it to motivate her fellow servicemembers through workout classes.
After her sophomore year at the USMA as an economics major, Dudley participated in the Acceptance of Oath ceremony, which made her military service real to her she said.
"By that point I had assimilated to the military," Dudley said. "I knew that I could do it. I still thought I would do my five years and get out and go do other things. Now 19 years after graduating, I'm still doing it."
After serving in several different command positions and on two previous deployments, Dudley was planning to get out of the military and move on. Then she was asked to return to the USMA West Point to teach.
"I was like 'Well, I'm having a good time,'" Dudley said. "'I like the Army. I'm going to deploy for another year anyways.'"
As a precursor to teaching, Dudley had to get her master's degree. With the opportunity to go to a school she normally wouldn't be able to afford, she had a phone interview with Harvard Business School. About a week later she got her acceptance letter from Harvard to get her Master of Business Administration.
"I redeployed from Iraq and about two months later moved to Boston to go to Harvard," Dudley said. "Teaching at the academy was very rewarding. Partially because you know that, as an instructor, you impact so many cadets in so many different ways. And they are all going to go out to the 'big Army' and be so spread out and then, hopefully, it's like a spider web of influence."
While teaching, Dudley found another life lesson.
"I poured myself into every lesson, devoting all my time and effort into that class and product," Dudley said. "But I quickly came to learn and appreciate that no matter what I did as an instructor--my specific class was not going to be the highest priority for every single cadet.
"I realized they all had different situations and ways that they needed to prioritize all of their requirements. I needed to focus my efforts on ensuring that I could bring everyone along as a group and understand that it's not just about me or my class. This holds true in life and all projects. Regardless of how hard you work, you have to understand that it will not be everyone else's priority."
Despite the opportunities presented to Dudley by the Army, she said the fourth life lesson she has incorporated is one she wishes she had learned a lot sooner.
"When I was the executive officer to a vice admiral at the National Counter Terrorism Center, he instilled in me, later in my career, an important concept," Dudley said. "You must find your motivation and reward in those around you: your friends, your family, your unit and all those that you touch and help in your day to day service. When you find peace with that, you will truly enjoy the military and understand your importance in helping and appreciating those around you."
Recently, the next piece of Dudley's undertaking for continuing her education fell into place when she was accepted for a fellowship to Yale University. This will be Dudley's official war college for furthering her professional military education at a colonel level, she said.
Dudley will spend a year at Yale as a fellow; auditing courses, writing several papers and continuing her mission to be a mentor, guide and coach for Soldiers in the form of Reserve Officers' Training Corps students. She will also teach occasional classes to give the military perspective on topics, she said.
"I think what motivates me the most is that I have had a unique background in the Army," said Dudley. "It's not at all a normal path that an officer would take. I really feel that because of the privileges that were given me by the Army, I have a unique perspective and inherent responsibility to try to help the Army think in a way it normally wouldn't."
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